Something interesting landed in my inbox today. Read it first and then see my thoughts below.
http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=111
So now you know...you're not what you eat...you are what you SAY you are...shocking!
Here's what I thought when I first read that email...
My children are Japanese-American-Mexican. They are generally assumed to be Hispanic. I am Japanese-American (or American of Japanese decent depending on your semantic preference.) If you don't know me or my family you probably don't know that I speak Spanish until the kids start acting crazy and I have to dress them down privately in public. You might even think I babysit a lot since on first glance they don't look a whole lot like me. Funny thing is that I am often assumed to be tri-lingual because every Asian person speaks their native language. And for the record, mine is English since like Mr. Springsteen I was born in the USA.
If you must dig up a third language I would make a case for Pidgin English except that after 12 odd years in Arkansas there is very little opportunity to "talk story" with folks from back home and I am rusty at best. It has always been a personal disappointment of mine that I not only do not speak or write Japanese, I still do not do very well with chopsticks either.
I have been told on several occasions that I am Hispanic regardless of my ethnic background because ANYONE can choose to be Hispanic or Latino. Now considering my family and my involvement in the Hispanic community I can see why they would make that suggestion. But, if I was not Hispanic for the first thirty odd years of my life, I wonder how many of those participating in the 2010 Census chose like me to be Hispanic now?
My parents were of the WWII mindset. They encouraged their children to speak English not Japanese and to embrace the American culture. Thankfully they lived in Hawai'i and were not incarcerated in the internment camps for Japanese-Americans on the Mainland. The impression of those times still remains. Don't stick out, don't be different. You already look different. Don't act different.
The Hispanic culture flies in the face of that old advice. While Asians go out of their way to assimilate and learn the cultures and languages of those around them, (just go to any Chinese restaurant here and you'll see that the employees also speak a few words in Spanish to make their Latino customers feel welcome too)...Latinos on the other hand, go out of their way to preserve their unique heritage and bring their culture to where they live. Mi casa es su casa in the literal sense. What's mine is yours but what's yours should also be mine, no? Close your eyes as you walk into your neighborhood Mexican store, cross the threshold and you're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy. Everything from the funky paint job to the smell of the laundry detergent transports you to Mexico.
So how accurate is the data that tells us about the rapid growth (or coming out of the closet) of the Hispanic population? How much of this information is data manipulation? And to serve what purpose? To divide a nation already hysterical about losing its national identity? To fuel the racial fire because we finally have an African-American President born in Hawai'i no less? The country that celebrated Mandela while saying, "not in my backyard" has a lot to think about.
My husband and his brothers turn a lovely amber shade when out in the sun. Several of their family members are naturally dark-skinned because of their Indio ancestors while others are equally light-skinned because of their Spanish heritage. The same goes for my brother-in-law who happens to be Filipino. Three of my kids have olive skin and turn quite dark when in the Easy Bake oven of our Southern summers while the other two are pale like an English rose. The light-skinned boy is called Chinese, and the darker boy is called Mexican, but guess which one speaks better Spanish...
None of this is new to us. African-American children have been dealing with these issues for generations. We know where segregation, mixed marriages, and racial slurs take us yet we continue to reinvent the wheel for lack of imagination. Maybe it's time for a true innovation in racial relations. Do Asian-Indian children escape these issues because of American fascination with Bollywood? Doubt it.
A recent viewing of CSI showed a non-stereotypical Indian boy admitting to his father that he will never be an Engineer because he is an academic failure. I remember students in Japan committing suicide when they failed to pass exams. That really put a damper on my academic pressure cooker. Remember that thanks to Samurai culture, suicide doesn't bear the same stigma in Japan as it does here.
So where do we go from here? I keep looking in the mirror but that view is not changing anytime soon. One of my favorite young people is Miranda Cosgrove who has a decidedly cosmopolitan look. It's not easy to peg her ethnicity which is precisely my point. She's an all-American gal born in Cali but could you picture her in a rice paddy in South-East Asia? How about as a European princess? She's attractive and talented but how many of you guessed Armenian, Italian, Irish, Russian, Welsh?
As the rest of America catches up to the ethnic melting pot that is Hawai'i, we need to re-examine our priorities. By demanding "English-only" or saying "no English, no service" where are we heading?
How important are the Census numbers? And when will everyone admit that bi-racial or multi-racial is not all about black and white? What would you do if they took your usual choice away? Did you notice how the Pew Hispanic Center says Black and White refer to non-Hispanics but the U.S. Census makes you choose an ethnic category and then asks if you are Hispanic or not? My husband's relatives put White regardless of their skin color. And if they took the Asian option away, I would choose Black because that is where I feel at home. There is no wannabe here because as much as I may wannabe White or Black, I simply am not. So until "kama'aina" becomes a category I am what I am...Asian-American Hispanic, from Hawai'i but not Hawai'ian.
Love and Aloha to all...
Hispanics Account for More than Half of Nation's Growth in Past Decade
The 2010 Census counted 50.5 million Hispanics in the United States, making up 16.3% of the total population. The nation's Latino population, which was 35.3 million in 2000, grew 43% over the decade. The Hispanic population also accounted for most of the nation's growth—56%—from 2000 to 2010.
by Jeffrey S. Passel, Senior Demographer, Pew Hispanic Center D’Vera Cohn, Senior Writer, Pew Research CenterMark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center
To read more and download report CLICK on link below;
<http://www.HispanicAd.com>
See the link below to understand how the U.S. Census Bureau defines the terms Hispanic and Latino.The definitions that follow are from www.pewhispanic.org to clarify their use of these terms in their reports and studies.
The terms “Latino” and “Hispanic” are used interchangeably. The terms “white,” “African American” and “black” are used to refer to non-Hispanics who identify themselves in those racial categories. The terms “immigrant” and “foreign born” are used to refer to any person who was born outside the United States its territories or possessions regardless of their citizenship or immigration status.
http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=111
So now you know...you're not what you eat...you are what you SAY you are...shocking!
Here's what I thought when I first read that email...
My children are Japanese-American-Mexican. They are generally assumed to be Hispanic. I am Japanese-American (or American of Japanese decent depending on your semantic preference.) If you don't know me or my family you probably don't know that I speak Spanish until the kids start acting crazy and I have to dress them down privately in public. You might even think I babysit a lot since on first glance they don't look a whole lot like me. Funny thing is that I am often assumed to be tri-lingual because every Asian person speaks their native language. And for the record, mine is English since like Mr. Springsteen I was born in the USA.
If you must dig up a third language I would make a case for Pidgin English except that after 12 odd years in Arkansas there is very little opportunity to "talk story" with folks from back home and I am rusty at best. It has always been a personal disappointment of mine that I not only do not speak or write Japanese, I still do not do very well with chopsticks either.
I have been told on several occasions that I am Hispanic regardless of my ethnic background because ANYONE can choose to be Hispanic or Latino. Now considering my family and my involvement in the Hispanic community I can see why they would make that suggestion. But, if I was not Hispanic for the first thirty odd years of my life, I wonder how many of those participating in the 2010 Census chose like me to be Hispanic now?
My parents were of the WWII mindset. They encouraged their children to speak English not Japanese and to embrace the American culture. Thankfully they lived in Hawai'i and were not incarcerated in the internment camps for Japanese-Americans on the Mainland. The impression of those times still remains. Don't stick out, don't be different. You already look different. Don't act different.
The Hispanic culture flies in the face of that old advice. While Asians go out of their way to assimilate and learn the cultures and languages of those around them, (just go to any Chinese restaurant here and you'll see that the employees also speak a few words in Spanish to make their Latino customers feel welcome too)...Latinos on the other hand, go out of their way to preserve their unique heritage and bring their culture to where they live. Mi casa es su casa in the literal sense. What's mine is yours but what's yours should also be mine, no? Close your eyes as you walk into your neighborhood Mexican store, cross the threshold and you're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy. Everything from the funky paint job to the smell of the laundry detergent transports you to Mexico.
So how accurate is the data that tells us about the rapid growth (or coming out of the closet) of the Hispanic population? How much of this information is data manipulation? And to serve what purpose? To divide a nation already hysterical about losing its national identity? To fuel the racial fire because we finally have an African-American President born in Hawai'i no less? The country that celebrated Mandela while saying, "not in my backyard" has a lot to think about.
My husband and his brothers turn a lovely amber shade when out in the sun. Several of their family members are naturally dark-skinned because of their Indio ancestors while others are equally light-skinned because of their Spanish heritage. The same goes for my brother-in-law who happens to be Filipino. Three of my kids have olive skin and turn quite dark when in the Easy Bake oven of our Southern summers while the other two are pale like an English rose. The light-skinned boy is called Chinese, and the darker boy is called Mexican, but guess which one speaks better Spanish...
None of this is new to us. African-American children have been dealing with these issues for generations. We know where segregation, mixed marriages, and racial slurs take us yet we continue to reinvent the wheel for lack of imagination. Maybe it's time for a true innovation in racial relations. Do Asian-Indian children escape these issues because of American fascination with Bollywood? Doubt it.
A recent viewing of CSI showed a non-stereotypical Indian boy admitting to his father that he will never be an Engineer because he is an academic failure. I remember students in Japan committing suicide when they failed to pass exams. That really put a damper on my academic pressure cooker. Remember that thanks to Samurai culture, suicide doesn't bear the same stigma in Japan as it does here.
So where do we go from here? I keep looking in the mirror but that view is not changing anytime soon. One of my favorite young people is Miranda Cosgrove who has a decidedly cosmopolitan look. It's not easy to peg her ethnicity which is precisely my point. She's an all-American gal born in Cali but could you picture her in a rice paddy in South-East Asia? How about as a European princess? She's attractive and talented but how many of you guessed Armenian, Italian, Irish, Russian, Welsh?
As the rest of America catches up to the ethnic melting pot that is Hawai'i, we need to re-examine our priorities. By demanding "English-only" or saying "no English, no service" where are we heading?
How important are the Census numbers? And when will everyone admit that bi-racial or multi-racial is not all about black and white? What would you do if they took your usual choice away? Did you notice how the Pew Hispanic Center says Black and White refer to non-Hispanics but the U.S. Census makes you choose an ethnic category and then asks if you are Hispanic or not? My husband's relatives put White regardless of their skin color. And if they took the Asian option away, I would choose Black because that is where I feel at home. There is no wannabe here because as much as I may wannabe White or Black, I simply am not. So until "kama'aina" becomes a category I am what I am...Asian-American Hispanic, from Hawai'i but not Hawai'ian.
Love and Aloha to all...
